Many of these concepts were simply patented to give the designers priority in the unlikely case that the technology is actually developed (fingers crossed for the force field). But some of the patents, like Boeing's fully automated plant for building airplane fuselages, could represent major steps forward in manufacturing and technology. The University of California San Diego's telescopic contact lens, for example, is particularly cool.

We covered a lot of these ideas during 2015, but this new goofy video from Patent Yogi helpfully pulls together the boldest patents filed in 2015:

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